The Witcher

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Post updated on 8/1/2023. See update below.

It was supposed to be an epic, heroic sendoff for Henry Cavill, the star of Netflix’s troubled fantasy drama, The Witcher. Cavill, who is a huge fan of the games and books, has never publicly stated why he left the show, and neither has anyone at Netflix, but the theory is creative differences. Or possibly conflicts with other work (the doomed Superman role, or Warhammer 40,000.

Whatever the case, we were told by showrunner Lauren Hissrich that he was being sent out with a bang in “the most heroic sendoff that we could have” which—after watching the final three episodes—is a rather puzzling statement.

“Henry has given so much to the show and so we want to honor that appropriately,” Hissrich told Entertainment Weekly. “Geralt’s big turn [in season three] is about giving up neutrality and doing anything that he has to do to get to Ciri. And to me, it’s the most heroic sendoff that we could have, even though it wasn’t written to be that. Geralt has a new mission in mind when we come back to him in season four. He’s a slightly different Geralt than we expected. Now, by the way, that’s an understatement.”

Replacing Cavill with Liam Hemsworth is certainly different than anyone expected when this show began. Cavill has been the biggest draw for the adaptation of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s books, perfectly embodying the character Geralt of Rivia, a mutant, monster-hunting Witcher. There have been other good moments in the show and other smart casting choices, but Season 3 has been an unmitigated disaster (I wrote reviews of Part 1 and Part 2, both of which I classify as “scathing”).

MORE FROM FORBES’The Witcher’ Season 3, Part 2 Review: Henry Cavill Flees A Sinking ShipBy Erik Kain

The final three episodes were supposed to be the big sendoff, but they mainly feature laying around in bed recovering from his wounds. One entire episode is devoted Ciri wandering around in the desert. The final fight scene between Geralt and some random Nilfgaardian soldiers is fine, but it’s low stakes and hardly that heroic. Mostly it just makes me think how sorely he’ll be missed.

I’m not alone here, either. Many critics have said the same thing (not to mention plenty of angry fans). Over at The AV Club, Jen Lennon has a post titled The Witcher Season 3, Volume 2 Review: Henry Cavill Deserves A Better Exit. She writes:

Writing at The Verge, Andrew Webster calls the finale a “wasted opportunity” writing:

And thus, like Geralt, the season just kind of limps to a conclusion. There are a few small revelations that will impact the future, but it’s startling how much these episodes get away from the strengths of the show. It’s not funny, the action is sparse, there are very few monsters, and the core cast is given little to do. This is particularly shocking for Geralt; even as the show continued its downward spiral, Cavill’s turn as the witcher remained a highlight.

What a mess. In the marketing for the show, Netflix went out of its way to advertise that “He’s still Geralt” in Season 3, which felt like desperation. It also felt like a slap in the face to Liam Hemsworth, who has one of the hardest jobs ever coming up. Cavill’s boots will not be easy to fill. Replacing the lead mid-series is never easy.

I am imagining an alternative timeline. In this other universe, the people in charge of making the show were all devoted to making it as faithful to the books as possible, with changes only made to make the stories work better on the screen. Netflix would have leaned heavily on Cavill and his love and knowledge of the source material, and he would have played a larger part in crafting the show’s trajectory, not just as its star but as a co-showrunner.

In this alternative timeline, the series would have remained closer to the source material and would not have lost its lead three seasons in, and it would be a wildly popular series that was a hit with critics and audiences alike, with growing viewership each season.

Alas, like The Witcher, this is just a fantasy.

I have been meaning to comment on this latest bit of marketing madness from Netflix. It’s not as bad as the “He’s still Geralt” bit I mentioned above, but it’s pretty cringe, nonetheless. BEHOLD:

“grunt if you love The Witcher” the digital billboard reads. I suppose it’s intended to be funny, a little nod to Cavill’s propensity to grunts and other non-verbal sounds often communicating irritation or resignation or the like.

But really, all this does is remind us that all those little idiosyncrasies that Cavill brought to the role of Geralt of Rivia will be missed once he’s gone. Hemsworth is in the unenviable position of having to decide how much of his own Geralt to bring to the table, and how much he should build off of Cavill’s performance. No matter the choice he makes, it will be hard for viewers to digest.

Granted, book readers had to accept the video game version of the character and gamers were initially skeptical of Cavill doing the part justice. It’s conceivable that we’ll all be able to accept the change. But the big difference, of course, is that the video game characters all remained the same from game to game, so making the switch to TV series was all one big leap. Making the switch between two actors playing the same lead role is a much more difficult transition.

I was watching Game Of Thrones again recently, and was struck by much smaller changes. I’d forgotten that the actor who played Beric Dondarrion in Season 1 was completely recast in later seasons. This occurred with a handful of other characters. The bigger the role, the more jarring it gets.

One of my least favorite episodes of Better Call Saul was partly due to the recasting of a secondary character between seasons that ended up playing a pretty big part in the final season, and it really threw me for a loop. Maybe that’s just me. Maybe my brain reacts to this kind of thing more than others. Recasts and brand new characters in Yellowjackets also threw me for a loop in that show’s wildly disappointing second season. This stuff matters.

I guess that’s why I think Netflix should just cancel this show before it gets any worse. I can’t imagine it will get any better with Cavill gone.